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Since the very beginning of the new year, I have gotten sick a good 4 times. The first 7 days of the year I had to get my voice back since it was out completely in the beginning of the year. Around the 13-18 of January I had a very bad cold and my sinuses were CLOGGED to the core. The last few days of January, I got a tooth infection which I had to go to the dentist and get antibiotics and other work done. Then, yesterday, I fell victim to another cold. This time my throat is sore, itchy and my right nostril is constantly clogged and I feel very tired and sleepy.
I'm doing everything I must do: Rest, drinking lots of water, tea with lemon and honey, taking lots more tea spoons of honey, Nyquil and whatever else is going to help me. I know eventually it'll subside.
Now, I know for a fact this is unusual and I noticed about few years ago that I always succumb to sickness easily during the winter especially. I try to take preventive measures even when I'm feeling well but I always end up getting sick either way. I come in close contact with someone who has a slight cold; the next day I wake up feeling miserable and sweaty .
And if before you ask, yes, I definitely do what is required to prevent sickness. I am actually quite fanatical of my health since I partake in various physical activities (I.E. Martial arts, weight lifting, advanced body weight exercises, yoga, gymnastic etc) and get my exercise in those ways. I eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, drink at least a gallon of water everyday, I take garlic before I run, I hardly drink and hardly ever smoke (cigarettes, cigars, hookah etc) and to a much less degree I hardly ever take any drugs, recreational or medicinal.
So in comparison to the average person, I guess you can say I am very healthy. Not to sound boastful (I'm really not, quite the opposite actually) you will see that I am very healthy and take care of myself and while many will agree, I don't feel too healthy. I know guys who I work with who don't exercise besides the heavy lifting and manual labor they get at work, and in 12 degrees cold can be outside with just a sweater, beanie, jeans and boots and stay out in the freezing cold for considerable amount of time, smoking a cigarette then after its all said and done go out to the bar for some drinks.
Sure, I can out run these guys, out lift them, physically out due them but if I try to do the same thing they do, my immune system doesn't stand a chance. Heck, my aunt is overweight, smokes like a chimney, eats fast food almost daily 2-3 times a day, walks barefoot outside, eats diabetes for a midnight snack and NEVER gets sick. It drives me mad, because if I even think to do something like that my whole immune system gets all trucked up.
I realize that stress can be a major contributor to a weak immune system and I'll admit, I've been having A LOT of that. I've been stressing out big time, pig time, all the time.
Anyone else have a familiar experience? What the hell is wrong with me?
Please do give me a diagnosis (if possible) and give me whatever remedies may work for you. I HATE being sick!! And right now I can't afford it.
1) If you want a diagnosis, go to a doctor. The only thing people on the internet can do, is tell you what they think you -might- be experiencing, and often this is based only on their personal experience or a google search. Take responsibility for your own health and go to a doctor if you want an actual diagnosis.
2) Here's what I think is wrong with you: it's winter. And no matter how solid and perfect your immune system is, no matter how much garlic you chew, how many layers of clothes you wear, how many hepa filters you have in your house, how many organic fruits and veggies you eat, and no matter how many vestal virgins were present to witness the miracle of you visit to the church to pray for good health - it was your turn to get sick this year.
Just imagine how much WORSE it would've been, if you hadn't done all those pro-active things. And be glad you weren't one of the minority who died this flu season.
You don't say how old you are. One year after major surgery, cancer was found. I have pain,cramps,head aches.fatigue,can't sleep.There is no improvement in my aliments. I blame it on depression and fighting going on any mind altering pills.
I know what you mean... we are SOSOSOSOS sick of being ill. People that cough on you, kids (and adults) that don't wash their hands, cramped cubicles at work. You just can't avoid it. I stopped making New Years resolutions for exercise, because we are ALWAYS sick January and February. Hard to exercise when you are hacking up a lung or puking.
We do not plan on going to anything or doing anything at all anymore, because usually one of our family has some kind of serious virus. It does not help that our kids bring home viruses from their schools. We all are healthy and take vitamins, it is just airborne cr*p I think
The worse is when you have to go to work. I have no sick days. And even if we did, some of these dang viruses hang on so long, a WEEK (I have one now). I could not take of a whole week for a cough that won't go away. I continually clean my work areas, etc. sanitize hands, etc. Nothing works. It is aggravating.
It just seems like over the years, it has been getting worse.
My tactic is that if it hangs on for more than 3 days, you go to a doctor. I had to with the current cough, after 6 days, OTC just would NOT cut it. I had to get the hard stuff by prescription, and now am feeling better. It is expensive, but you have to do it. If you can catch the symptoms BEFORE something turns into something that you will need antibiotics for, it is much better.
I used to feel the same way. My wife felt sort of crappy last year, no special pains just run down. I got her into the doctor and she ended up with a pacemaker. Go see a doctor. The OTC meds you mention are for symptom relief, not a cure for anything.
Long term you want to build up your immune system; you do see that as a problem correctly.
My route to that has been some nutritional supplements I take: Omega3 oils, Multivitamins, Vitamin D, Calcium, and an anti-oxidant called OPC-3. Search for "isotonix" and find a local distributor.
These do not diagnose, cure, or treat conditions. Many people have found them helpful, however.
There is some debate about the usefulness of supplements, but there actually is a large body of supportive evidence.
Good luck.
I used to feel the same way. My wife felt sort of crappy last year, no special pains just run down. I got her into the doctor and she ended up with a pacemaker. Go see a doctor. The OTC meds you mention are for symptom relief, not a cure for anything.
Long term you want to build up your immune system; you do see that as a problem correctly.
My route to that has been some nutritional supplements I take: Omega3 oils, Multivitamins, Vitamin D, Calcium, and an anti-oxidant called OPC-3. Search for "isotonix" and find a local distributor.
These do not diagnose, cure, or treat conditions. Many people have found them helpful, however.
There is some debate about the usefulness of supplements, but there actually is a large body of supportive evidence.
Good luck.
And none of them prevent colds/flu. None of them. That is what the OP is posting about. Catching colds/flu/illnesses in the winter, during cold/flu season. Again - you can take every nutritional supplement known to support a healthy immune system, known to man, use hepa filters, wash your hands every 20 minutes, and wear a face mask when you leave the house. But if it's your turn to get sick, you're gonna get sick.
I have been lucky this year so far and have not caught the flu that has been going around town and I didn't get my flu shot until the middle of January. I go out rarely but when I do go to the grocery store or to get gasoline, I always wash my hands when I get home and try to consciously not touch my face with my hands. If I have an itch before I can wash my hands a tissue is nearby or minus that, a shirt sleeve works great. Do you have young kids OP? We were always more sickly when our kids were young. They don't know better so it's up to parents to teach them how to be healthy.
When my father was in isolation due to what they thought was the flu, we had to wash our hands as they said that hand sanitizer didn't provide the right protection and I have been suspicious of it ever since.
I've started a thread a couple of months ago about the exact same thing...all last year I've been getting sick every month with endless colds, and each one seems to go on for at least a week and a half, compared to the colds I used to have which were usually over in 5 days or less. Since then I've been trying everything I could find to try and prevent it - and I've managed to stay healthy through a bad virus my son had, with him coughing all over me, and then him and DH were sick again, and I managed to get through it with almost no symptoms, scratchy throat and a bit of stuffiness for a couple of days and that's it - knock on wood! I don't know if it was just a coincidence, but considering that i usually catch everything that goes around, I contribute it to the routine I've started both times as soon as one of them got sick (I think this is key, preventing it as soon as you know you've been exposed, as opposed to when you already start to feel symptoms). Based on lots of reading around on the web, here's what I did: Vitamin D, take 10,000-15,000 IU a day for the first few days you're exposed to the virus. It's a lot and I wouldn't take that much on a regular basis, but from experience, I have not gotten a cold from someone in the family whenever I started taking that dose right away - and I used to catch their colds every single time before. This time, I've also tried putting peroxide in my ears - people say it cures colds, I was skeptical and no idea if it helped at all but I figured it's safe and won't hurt so why not. Finally, I drank a couple of cups of Kam Wo tea a day - it's a Chinese tea made of over 30 herbs; an Asian friend recommended it to me, he said his whole family uses it for colds and flu to the extent where they don't even keep tylenol at home, it helps that much. Again, no clue if it had anything to do with me not getting sick, but it's pleasant to drink and I figured it can't be bad. It's available in Asian pharmacies and is cheap. I actually trust Chinese herbal medicines - we lived in a heavily Asian community and they seem to choose them versus conventional drugs and for the most part, seem to be much healthier. Aside from that, I also rinsed my nose with saline rinse a few times a day, gargled with diluted peroxide as soon as i started feeling a bit of a scratchy throat, took hot showers (I believe raising the core body temperature helps kill off bugs the same way fever does), ate lots of kiwis and blood oranges (very high in vit C), and drank lots of echinacea tea. Again, don't know what or if any of it helped, but to me, not getting sick twice in a row was a miracle enough in and of itself, that I'm a believer in prevention, lol.
I get sick in the winter too. I never go to the doctor but will end up taking the antibiotics I purchased in Mexico...my last three illnesses always go into my lungs....and my coughing fits are so painful it feels like I'm going to cough out my lungs. I'm not kidding. I don't smoke or drink either. I am pretty healthy but geez that cough!
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